The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time by Keith HoustonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
An engrossing tale about the origins of books. The book that we hold today is the culmination of the weaving together the threads of the hoary origins of paper, printing, ink, and book-binding. From papyrus, parchment, hand-made paper to paper mills; the standardizations of paper sizes; from cuneiform writing, hieroglyphics, hand written scrolls, block printing, Gutenberg’s printing press, daguerreotypes, to modern lithography. The etymology of “foolscap”, “italics” and others is detailed in the author’s typical chatty manner.
The contributions of Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks and others is documented comprehensively. It is a pity that there is no mention of Indian writing and books in their antediluvian forms like the tree bark scrolls ‘bhoj patra.’
Somehow not as engaging as his Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks.
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